PE ratio accuracy

sevenhills

Just looking at some share prices online.

Google has Smith DS has having a PE of 33.40

Hargreaves Lansdown says the PE is 18.29 whilst this website as another figure.

https://topstocktable.com/FTSE-100/FTSE100-PE.html

Is the discrepancy just the PE measured from a different date? I would hope Google and HL would be correct, I have never used that website before.

https://www.google.com/search?q=smith+(ds)+share+price&client=firefox-b-d&sxsrf=ALeKk02suBm3t209yM8EQk-fES7dJkdfqw:1628759136774&ei=YOQUYdHhLpPB8gLilYnYCg&oq=Smith+(DS)&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAEYADIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwA0oECEEYAFAAWABgtw1oAXACeACAAVCIAVCSAQExmAEAyAEIwAEB&sclient=gws-wiz

Thrugelmir

Data for HL website is provided by a third party. Not always up todate. 

eskbanker

Looks to me like the driver for the difference is varying underlying EPS figures, as the price itself is a matter of record - it obviously fluctuates in real time but it seems unlikely to me that timing differences would explain the significant variances seen.

The topstocktable uses an EPS figure of 38.5p, but HL prefer an adjusted (excluding non-recurring costs) figure of 24.2p and Google opts for about 14p as a diluted version - without knowing more detail about any accepted standard definition, it's plausible that they're all correct answers but for different questions!

sevenhills

eskbanker said:

Looks to me like the driver for the difference is varying underlying EPS figures, as the price itself is a matter of record - it obviously fluctuates in real time but it seems unlikely to me that timing differences would explain the significant variances seen.

The topstocktable uses an EPS figure of 38.5p, but HL prefer an adjusted (excluding non-recurring costs) figure of 24.2p and Google opts for about 14p as a diluted version - without knowing more detail about any accepted standard definition, it's plausible that they're all correct answers but for different questions!

I have just looked at my Capita PE, Google = 3.05 and HL = 11.32

Rather confusing for amateurs like myself.

eskbanker

I suppose the moral of the story is that for amateurs (including myself, I hasten to add!), if you want to analyse potential investments using published figures and metrics, it's vital to research in enough detail to be able to understand their derivation and significance....

MaxiRobriguez

Alternative option is to do your own calculations... It's not that hard to build an Excel sheet with all the relevant formula that you can use consistently to compare apples with apples and understand exactly how you're getting to the numbers.

Thrugelmir

I always find that indepth analysts reports provide the best insight into an individual company's financial performance. Headline figures such as EPS can be financially engineered.